Eminent economist TN Srinivasan passes away; a 'guru' to many, never craved for recognition, say his admirers

Well-known economist T N Srinivasan passed away on Saturday. He was 85 years old.

Born in 1933, Srinivasan or TN as he was popularly known, completed his BA honors degree in Mathematics in 1953 and MA degree in Mathematics in 1954 – from the University of Madras, India, University of Madras. He also earned a two-year professional training in statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta. He had an another Master’s degree in Economics from Yale University where he earned his PhD degree in Mathematics in 1962.

Srinivasan was Samuel C Park, Junior Professor of Economics Emeritus and Professor Emeritus in International and Area Studies at Yale University. He was a Distinguished Professor (2014-2019) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Formerly a Professor, and later Research Professor, at the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi (1964-1977), he has taught at numerous universities in the US.

His death was mourned by Arvind Subramanian, former Chief Economic Advisor on Twitter:

Calling Srinivasan a ‘veritable guru to many’ Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh said he was a ‘great inspiration on Twitter. He said, “one of India’s truly great economists has just passed away.” Jairam Ramesh recalled how Srinivasan never craved for public recognition. He was immersed in the world of scholarship till the very end," he said. Historian Ramachandra Guha recalled the ‘wicked wit’ of Srinivasan.

Shamika Ravi, member of the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council, expressed her sadness at the passing away of the economist. She tweeted:

Srinivasan’s research interests included the economy, international trade, development, agricultural economics, law and economics, and microeconomic Theory. His latest book on India was Growth, Sustainability and India’s Economic Reforms in 2011.